Eight-Sided Destruction
by aklutzke
Summary: Anise, a regular human, was kidnapped and experimented on for months. Now she has the power to destroy all three worlds.
1. Chapter 1: The Volcanic Island

Hello and thank you for reading my first published story! I am an aspiring author and I want nothing more than to improve my skills. Please review if you have time, and don't be afraid to hurt my feelings. That being said, if I'm doing something right, please tell me that as well. I'm challenging myself to write 1000 words a day, so you'll find I update a lot. If you like what you see, follow the story to keep up with them all. :)

* * *

Chapter One

"Lord Koenma!" a blue ogre shouted as it scurried into the office of the Spirit World prince. A stack of papers fell to the ground in a heap, scattering across the floor as a powerful vibration passed through the palace. He lifted his hands to his temples in an attempt to keep his brain from rattling in his skull. "Lord Koenma, it seems there's some kind of disruption in Human World!"

"What was your first clue?!" the toddler shouted, almost losing his binky. Koenma's hand grabbed for a remote control, but the next wave of energy briefly paralyzed him before he can complete the action. He shivered, rubbing his hands across his arms to quell the goose bumps. "What the hell is going on down there?" The next wave dropped the remote control in his lap.

More ogres ran into the room, papers flying in every direction. They shouted their questions desperately at the prince, who quickly found himself overwhelmed.

"Sir," Botan said as she flew into the room, "what is happen—"

"Would you all just shut up!?" Koenma screamed, quieting the room and fiddling with his remote. He pressed the button and a hologram showed an erupting volcano.

"A volcano?" Botan asks. "How could something like that cause all these vibrations?"

"Good question." Koenma looked around the scene. "It's not unheard of for a demon to have a little fun in the Human World, but this is an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, hundreds of miles from any living human." Koenma fell back in his chair, watching as a bubble of magma suddenly exploded from the volcano, unleashing another wave of vibrations through the office at the expense of the cowering ogres. "Botan, I want you to send the new Spirit Detectives over there immediately."

Botan gasped, her eyes widening. "But sir, they aren't ready for something like this yet! They've only been in that role for a few months…"

"I have no choice," Koenma responded, not looking at the grim reaper. "Whatever demon is down there, it's extremely dangerous. I've never seen demon energy powerful enough to reach Spirit World from the Human World." Koenma looked up with desperation. "The last thing I need is a demon like that rampaging through human cities!"

Botan looked toward the ground. In a monotonous voice, she murmured, "yes, sir."

"I'm going to call Kurama and Hiei for help. They only need to survive long enough for those two to arrive."

Botan nodded, wiping away a stray tear. She looked into Koenma's eyes with vigor. "We'll do our best, sir!" She hopped on her oar and flew off.

Koenma shivered when another wave of energy shot through the office. He reached for the compact in his desk and called Hiei, but there was no answer. "Dammit!" he shouted. He called Kurama next. The line was full of static, and just when the prince was about to give up, a voice answered.

"Koenma?" the redhead asked quietly.

"Kurama, there is a very strong demon in the Human World, and I need you to help me take it out! I can't risk having that thing find its way to human civilization."

Kurama nodded. "I had a feeling you would be calling about that. There have been some significant earthquakes happening in Japan, and I can sense the demon's energy nearby—"

"What do you mean 'nearby'?" Koenma interrupted. "The demon is at least 2000 miles from Japan!"

Kurama froze. "Then how…?"

"What part of 'very strong demon' did you not understand?" Koenma watched as Kurama's eyes widened. "I've sent my new Spirit Detectives to the volcanic island, but there's no way they can beat that thing by themselves. I know you've been hanging out with humans for the past few years, but you're one of the strongest demons I know I can count on…" Koenma looked away briefly. "Kuwabara is too weak for this, and Yusuke is too busy keeping his territory in check."

"And Hiei?"

"Won't pick up when I call!" Koenma said, rubbing his temples in annoyance. Another wave of energy crashed through, briefly interrupting the connection. "These vibrations keep getting stronger, and I don't know how much longer we can afford for this to go on." Koenma watched the hologram above his desk. His detectives had just arrived at the island. "Please, you must hurry!"

Kurama nodded. "Send me a portal and I'll leave immediately."

Koenma hung up. A swirling blue portal opened.

"Why didn't you pick up when Koenma called?" Kurama asked, looking pointedly at Hiei across the empty classroom he snuck into.

"I didn't even know he was calling. Do you really think I carry around that stupid communication device everywhere I go?" His red eyes locked on Kurama.

"Come on, let's go."

"It's about time something happened around here. It's been years since I've faced a demon with any semblance of a chance against me." Hiei smirked, hopping through the portal behind Kurama.

As soon as the two reached the other side, a blast of heat knocked them to the sandy beach, rocks and pebbles falling around them. "What the…?" Kurama started, rubbing his sore head. He looked at the destruction around him.

The island was almost entirely covered in hot magma. What was once a vibrant, green forest was now a blazing inferno of skeletal trees and smoke. The center of the island housed the erupting volcano spewing black gas into the sky, creating a tower of angry lightning that crashed into the sea around them.

"Over there!" Hiei pointed after another shockwave hit. "These blasts are picking up intensity. Whatever is doing this isn't holding back."

"I agree." The two started leaping on jutting rocks along the beach, making their way around the island and avoiding the magma. "A demon only has so much energy before it runs out, however." Kurama readied his rose.

Hiei unsheathed his sword. "Hn. And from the feel of things, I'd say this one is just about empty." His smirk dropped. "It's hardly a fair fight at this rate."

"That's not important right now. Besides, we have no idea how much more energy it might have. Let's be cautious for now."

Hiei scoffed. "Whatever."

The two jumped high into the air, seeing a glowing figure on the beach below them. "That must be the demon. Let's not waste time."

Hiei nodded, diving with his sword overhead and preparing to strike. Kurama extended his rose whip, raising it overhead. Neither was prepared for the sudden blast of raw, hot energy. A white light flashed around the demon below, blinding Hiei and Kurama who didn't have time to shut their eyes. Both were pushed high into the air, eventually landing in the waves of the ocean.

Sputtering, Hiei quickly swam over to the sinking, unconscious Kurama. He placed an arm around Kurama's chest, holding him close and swimming back to shore. The closer he got to the shore, the more blood he swam through.

Hiei dragged Kurama to the sand. "Wake up, fox!" Kurama didn't respond. "Dammit!" A large gash across Kurama's head begab to bleed into his hair. Hiei bent toward the redhead's face and sighed in relief upon hearing his steady breathing. A ringing noise sounded from Kurama's left pants pocket, and Hiei reached for the compact communicator. "What is it?"

The blast destroyed the screen of the device, but Hiei knew from the voice that it was Koenma on the other side. "Hiei?"

"Don't worry, Kurama's fine. I followed him through the portal."

"Right. It seems after that explosion we can't detect any demon energy except for yours and Kurama's. Has the demon been killed?"

"Don't know." Hiei stood to look around. He noticed multiple human body parts strewn throughout the beach. "But your new spirit brats certainly have been."

A pause. "Shit."

Hiei walked toward the bodies and looked around. "Did you really expect that they would survive?"

"I had no choice."

"You don't have to make excuses for me, prince. Anyway, I don't feel anything either, so this demon is either dead or gone." Hiei looked toward the island, noticing a figure kneeling over something a hundred feet away from him. "Wait…"

The connection ended when Hiei closed the compact, stuffing it into his pocket. He sprinted toward the figure quickly, finding a jutting stone to hide behind. A human pulled a collar off of the limp body beneath him. He stood and walked toward the nearest shadow, pressed a button on his watch, and disappeared. Hiei quirked an eyebrow. He walked toward the body lying on the sand. The compact started ringing again.

"Hiei! What's going on?"

"I'm not sure, but there's a human female here. Is she one of your detectives?" He bent down to inspect the body, finding the pulse. "Seems she survived the blast."

"None of my detectives are female."

The girl's body was almost completely covered in soot, and her dirty hair was matted on her head. "How odd that she is still alive… Guess I'll bring her back with me, then."

"Good. I'll open up a portal to my office." Hiei hung up.

He bent down to pick her up, and once she was off the ground, he noticed the limp, furry tail hanging from behind her. He heaved her over his shoulder, placed Kurama over the other, and then jumped into the portal that opened up a few moments later.


	2. Chapter 2: The Little Human Girl

Chapter Two

Kurama blinked and turned his head away from the bright ceiling when he gained consciousness. He instantly felt Hiei's presence. "What happened?"

"You were hit in the head during the explosion," was Hiei's terse response. "I brought you back here."

"Yes, well, I think I could have deduced that on my own." Kurama sat up from his bed. "You don't look like you fought a powerful demon recently."

"I haven't."

"What happened to the demon?" Kurama stood up and walked over to where Hiei was perched on his window gazing at the sunset.

"Nobody knows."

Kurama rose an eyebrow at that. "What about the Spirit Detectives?"

"Dead."

Kurama nodded. "I was afraid that might have happened."

Hiei looked away from the sky and into Kurama's eyes. "But there was a girl."

As if on cue, the compact communicator in Hiei's pocket began ringing. Kurama grabbed it from Hiei's outstretched hand and answered. "What is it, Koenma?" Hiei turned away and looked back toward the sky, listening passively to the conversation.

"Well… To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I was hoping you could answer some questions."

Kurama could tell from the background that Koenma was in the infirmary instead of his office. "I can certainly try."

Koenma cleared his throat. "Well… do you know anything about… demonic humans?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean," Kurama answered. "I know about humans with a demonic parent or ancestor, but then, so do you." Yusuke immediately came to Kurama's mind.

Koenma shook his head. "No, not like that." He looked toward the ceiling and scratched his head. Sighing, he attempted further words. "I mean… Can you think of any humans that show demonic traits while still being completely human?"

"That doesn't make any sense, sir. If a human is showing demonic characteristics, that implies that the person is not 100% human."

"Yes! Yes, I know!" Koenma started pulling his hair. "But a human with even the tiniest amount of demon blood and energy shouldn't have a heart beat!"

Kurama froze. "Sir?"

"Just… just get in here. I'll send you a portal. Bring Hiei with you." The connection ended.

Kurama looked toward Hiei. "Is this about that girl?"

Hiei nodded. "Probably. I thought she was a human when I checked her pulse to see if she was alive after the explosion on the island. After picking her up, I saw the tail." Hiei stood from the window seat and adjusted the sword on his hip. He grabbed his cloak and threw it on. "I guess the prince saw it as well."

"That's definitely odd." Kurama spoke to himself, searching his mind for an answer. He had read countless books on demons throughout his hundreds of years of life, but nothing like what Hiei and Koenma described was noted on any of those pages.

The portal opened. "You coming, Fox?" Hiei asked.

Kurama nodded and hopped through, followed by the short fire demon. The two walked toward the infirmary after exiting outside of Koenma's office. "Did you notice anything else strange about her?" Kurama asked.

"The girl was covered in volcanic ash, so it was impossible to see any details besides the tail." Hiei responded.

Kurama rose a hand to knock on the door to the infirmary, but Koenma answered before he had the chance. "Please tell me you've heard of this before," he begged Kurama.

"No," Kurama answered. "Nothing I've read had any information about demons with heart beats, I'm afraid. Do you think I could take a look at her?"

Koenma rubbed his temples. "Sure, go ahead. We managed to clean her up since Hiei brought her in, but that only led to more questions than answers." Koenma led the pair to the padded bed furthest away.

Kurama scanned her unconscious body and immediately understood what Koenma meant. The girl was very small and petite with shining black hair that reached her shoulders and long, unkempt bangs. She was dressed in a black sports bra and tight shorts that ended at her mid-thigh, so the body marks were clearly visible. They resembled tattoos, but Kurama had interacted with enough demons to know that these were the brands of a snake demon. She had two bright orange stripes on each of her cheeks and lines of hexagonal, scale-like markings that extended down each of her arms in alternating light blue and black. Another line of the hexagonal marks was centered over her abdomen, and two final lines of markings stretched down each of her legs to her feet. Once the lines reached her knees, the blue faded to the same bright orange as on her face. The markings stood out vibrantly against her pale skin, along with the white fox ears and tail.

"So is she some kind of… fox-snake-human hybrid or something?" Hiei asked curiously, feeling one of the soft white ears.

"Not quite, Hiei," Kurama answered, stroking the snake markings on the girl's arm, watching as they caught the light and reflected it.

"Her DNA is completely human," Koenma spoke, distracting Kurama from his thoughts. The toddler was reading through a file folder. "That being said, there is absolutely no trace of fox or snake demon DNA. I've had my staff check this multiple times." Koenma turned a few pages. "However, she's exhibiting multiple types of demon energies. It was pretty easy to deduce the snake and fox energy since those demons have such obvious physical features, but my experts have been able to pick up the energies of 5 other kinds of demons."

"Are you serious?" Kurama gasped.

"Completely," Koenma answered. "We aren't sure what the other kinds of energies are yet, but with further study, we can probably figure that out within a week."

"But how can a human contain the energies of 7 different types of demons?" Kurama asked, incredulous.

Koenma grabbed the remote control from his desk and pressed the button, the hologram showing the destruction at the volcanic island. "We don't think she can."

"You mean…" Hiei started, looking from the hologram to the girl, "all of that power came from this… little human girl?"

Koenma nodded. "There is no other explanation."

"What…" a small voice sounded from the bed, causing the two demons and Koenma to look in the direction of the girl who was slowly gaining consciousness. "Where…?" The entire room was suddenly charged with static electricity, causing the girl's hair to rise away from her body. A storm crashed outside, lightning flashes glowing into the room in bursts. "Who are you?" she asked, looking toward the two demons in front of her, feeling their radiating energy against her own. Through her blurry vision she couldn't make out their faces, but the vibrant red-pink hair stood out at once. The storm raged stronger as the girl began to cry. "Get away from me!" She thrust her hand out with her eyes closed, shooting a powerful fire blast into Kurama's chest and sending him across the room.

Hiei removed the headband from his forehead, opening the Jagan eye and leaping onto the girl's bed. He pinned her arms against the mattress and sat on her hips to stop her from flailing. Her eyes opened wide and were immediately captivated by the purple iris of Hiei's third eye. "Sleep," he commanded. Her eyes immediately closed, and the demonic energy flaring throughout the room settled.

Kurama dragged himself from the ground, leaning heavily on the wall and clutching his burned chest. Koenma scurried out from underneath a desk across the room.

"Good job, Hiei," Koenma applauded.

Kurama managed to get himself situated on an empty bed. "I think it's safe to say that she's at least part fire demon."

"And lightning," Koenma added, calling in a nurse to heal the injured fox. "The Spirit World doesn't get storms like that one"

Hiei nodded, getting off the girl slowly. The light from the ceiling glinted off of a tiny object on the floor. He bent down to take a look, grasping the small gem between his fingers. There were a few others scattered about. "And ice."

"Ice?" Koenma asked.

Hiei revealed the tear gems in his hand to the toddler prince. "Only ice maidens can make these."


	3. Chapter 3: Brain Scan

Chapter Three

Koenma had been locked in his office for the past three hours, pondering the mystery of the human girl that was still unconscious in the infirmary. He stamped papers quickly, not really seeing any of them, merely anxious to move them along so that he could return to his research.

Kurama, chest wound completely healed, sat in the corner of the toddler's office with his eyes closed and in deep concentration. Most would think him asleep, but Koenma knew that the Fox preferred this kind of deep meditation when thinking through problems. Hiei was facing the window, the pink sky of Spirit World casting a warm glow on his face. His eyes were closed except the Jagan, which glowed faintly purple.

_What have you been thinking about, Kurama?_ Hiei asked telepathically.

The redhead squirmed, not expecting the interruption. _Batteries_, he admitted.

_What about them?_

Kurama could sense Hiei's impatience. _Well, humans cannot produce demonic energy on their own without having an ancestor that was a demon._

_I'm just as confused as you are, _Hiei admitted_. The girl has released a tremendous amount of energy since the explosions on the volcanic island began. That she was still able to summon the power to harm you and cause that lightning storm is... remarkable._

Pricks of jealousy wafted to Kurama's mind along with Hiei's words. _Yes, I agree. It is as though her power is truly unlimited._

_We can't allow a human with those kinds of powers to live. It is clear that she has absolutely no control over them._

Kurama smirked. _Well... I can honestly say I wasn't expecting you to come to that conclusion._

_Why's that?_ Hiei opened his eyes, closing the Jagan and looking at Kurama across the room.

Kurama also opened his eyes, grinning mischievously. _We still don't know what 2 of her 7 demonic energies are. I figured you'd want to wake her up to find out._

_It's a bit of a gamble. She could easily destroy the toddler's entire palace._ Hiei smirked, catching Kurama's meaning. _Hn. That would be entertaining._

"What have you found, Hiei?" Kurama asked.

Koenma looked up at those words, staring intently at the fire demon. "It's very different from anything else I've ever seen," Hiei began. "Her DNA might be human, but her brain is not set up the way that most humans' are." Hiei paused. "I don't really know how to describe it…"

"Please try, Hiei," Koenma asked, clearly desperate.

"Hn." Hiei glared at the prince briefly before continuing. "It's kind of like… switches. In demons, the parts of the brain that control demonic energy and powers are all over the place, making it very difficult to shut off without spending days working through every connection. For humans, the parts of the brain that control spirit energy are much the same—and for this girl, that hasn't changed." He began pacing as he continued. "Human brains have a lot of potential, in that a large area of the brain doesn't serve a purpose. It seems that those empty regions have been utilized and filled with demonic connections, giving her the ability to use demonic powers and create demonic energy."

"Wow," Kurama said.

Hiei sighed. "There's more. Like I said earlier, the brains of demons have their energy creation and power usage spread out over many areas. For her, it's all concentrated into one of eight different spots—"

"Did you say eight?" Koenma interrupted. "But my experts could only pinpoint seven distinct demonic energies."

"Your experts were wrong," Hiei asserted. "Although not entirely. Having these areas concentrated makes it much easier for a powerful psychic or Jagan user, like myself, to cut the connection, essentially turning her access to certain demonic powers and energies off completely. One of them is already turned off."

"Can you tell what the other demon types are?" Kurama asked, curious.

"Not from scanning her brain like this," Hiei responded. "It's easy for me to determine this information in an ordinary demon because I understand how demon brains are set up. This is much different." He paused. "I might be able to determine that information from her memories.

Kurama nodded. "I think it might be best if we turn off the other aspects of her brain that give her access to demonic powers first."

"I agree," Koenma added. "How long will this take, Hiei?"

"I'll need a day to completely turn everything off," Hiei said. "I can keep her asleep during that time."

Koenma rose from his seat and hopped to his desk. "Please start right away, Hiei. Kurama, could you stay here for a moment?"

Hiei flitted off instantly. Kurama approached the prince's desk. "What is it, sir?"

Koenma cleared his throat. "I've been thinking about my Spirit Detectives," he admitted. "Considering the disaster that happened with the last group, I think it will be incredibly difficult to recruit new members."

"I would imagine so," Kurama agreed.

"And, well…" Koenma started, scratching behind his head. "With the proper training, I think that this girl has the potential to be one."

Kurama rose an eyebrow. "Not every powerful demon wishes to work for you out of the goodness of his or her heart."

Koenma looked a little surprised by that statement. "Yes, well, she did technically kill my last Spirit Detectives, a very serious crime here in Spirit World."

"I suppose that's true," Kurama began, "but with all due respect, I don't think she committed that crime on purpose."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you really think that her brain was set up that way from birth? Someone has done this to her, and judging from her rather violent reactions in the infirmary, it was probably committed by a demon against her will."

Koenma looked down. "I see what you're saying."

"However," Kurama offered, "I do think that she would benefit from training. Unless we can find a way to completely sever the demonic aspects from her, there is no way that she will ever be able to assimilate with humans. After all, fox ears and a tail are pretty strange to most people."

"Do you think we should stop Hiei from turning her demonic powers off?"

"For now, I think what he is doing is for the best" Kurama reached for a rose within his hair, carefully bringing it to his nose. "But I doubt the girl will be happy sitting around looking the way she does and twiddling her thumbs until she dies. Humans need a purpose, something to do, if they're going to stay sane."

"I see… And training would certainly give me a very powerful Spirit Detective."

"As long as she agrees to join," Kurama added.

"Yes, yes, whatever." Koenma waved the last comment off, returning to his seat and picking up his stamper. "Until Hiei is done turning those demon powers off, I'll be here catching up on work."

Kurama nodded, stepping out of the office and planning lessons for the girl that was 1/8th fox demon.


	4. Chapter 4: The Flower Shop

Chapter Four

"Thank you! Enjoy the rest of your evening, Mrs. Binkley!" Anise rose a hand to wave goodbye to the elderly woman, a regular, before returning to her preening. The vase in front of her was almost bursting with the amount of flower stems inside of it. Anise removed a lily, trimmed off a few of the leaves, and then returned it to its place. She smiled at her work, taking the finished piece and placing it in the display cooler across the room.

The bell above the door rang. "I'll be with you in just one moment," Anise promised, centering the vase on the display before turning around. The man that entered wore a long black cloak that almost reached the ground. His black boots made no noise as he approached her, the cloak billowing only slightly. His hands rested in his pockets as he took in the small flower shop. His black hair was spiked up, and he wore a white bandana on his forehead. She couldn't make out any facial features, even when he stood next to her. "Um… Hello," she attempted.

"Hn." He responded. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think this was Kurama's dream."

"Excuse me?"

He turned to face her. "What is your name, girl?"

"Anise," she answered cautiously. "Is there something I can help you with today?"

"No." Hiei looked around. He located a chair across the room and sat down in it. His hands reached up and pulled the bandana off of his forehead. Anise couldn't see what was behind it.

"Why can't I see your face?" she asked, noting for the first time that the music stopped playing over the store speakers. The windows, normally letting in ample amounts sunlight, suddenly became opaque. The room still glowed as though unhindered by lack of light.

"Because you've never met me before."

Anise waited, but he didn't explain. "Um, I don't think I understand."

He sighed. "Look, I'm not here for conversation, girl."

Anise walked over to him. "Then what are you here for?" She took the seat next to him and crossed her legs elegantly. "You don't seem like the kind of person that buys flowers for his sweetheart."

He smirked. "Listen carefully, because I don't enjoy repeating myself. Humans can only dream about people that they have seen in real life. Because you've never seen my face, you couldn't possibly bring those details with you into your dream."

Anise scooted away from the man cautiously. "My… dream?" The room began rumbling, as if an earthquake were passing through it. The man's forehead glowed purple for a moment, and Anise felt prickles in her head. The rumbling stopped.

"Calm down!" he ordered. "I can only do so many things at one time, dammit!"

"Are you saying that this is a dream?" she asked, feeling unnaturally calmer than before.

"Yes, and this one is definitely the least exciting of any that I've ever seen."

Anise scoffed. "Well, excuse me!" She stood and stomped across the shop, snatching a simple bouquet of roses and baby's breath to start another vase. "Maybe you should go invade someone else's dreams them. Why are you even here, anyway?" Grabbing a tool, she stripped the thorns off of a rose and set it aside.

"You think I want to be here?" he fumed. "You're the one that almost blew up that entire island! If I don't turn your powers off, you could easily destroy any of the three worlds!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, sir, but I think it's about time for you to leave," Anise prompted, pointing to the exit. "The door is that way."

He disappeared, reappearing beside her instantaneously. "Don't know what I'm talking about?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm. "So that inactive volcano just exploded on its own? The Spirit Detectives just fell into pieces, dead on the ground, for no good reason?!" His voice rose as he spoke, yelling the last sentence.

Anise cowered away from him, holding her hands out and starting to cry. "I'm… s-sorry… I really don't know what you're talking about…"

His hands reached out and grabbed her head, pulling it toward him.

"Please!" she begged, trying to pull away. "D-don't hurt me!"

"Calm yourself, girl." His forehead glowed again.

Anise immediately felt her fears vanish. She blinked, then looked toward the man's hazy face. "How did you do that?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he pulled her closer, to the point where their foreheads were almost touching. Anise felt heat rise to her cheeks. Pinpricks flooded her mind and she winced. "Well that certainly complicates things," he mumbled, releasing her face.

"Um… Sorry…?"

"It seems the last thing you can remember is going to bed after a school day. Judging from the calendar on your bedroom wall, that was about eight months ago."

Anise froze. "Wha...?"

He walked back toward the seat. "That's something the Fox will want to know, but that will have to wait." He sat down and propped his crossed legs on an overturned flower pot, holding his arms behind his head. "For now, I need to turn those powers off. This will take a long time, so don't bother me."

"What powers?" she asked, shaking slightly.

"Don't worry about it. The toddler will fill you in when you wake up."

_Toddler?_ she thought. Ignoring the man's words, she simply nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. "Will you at least tell me your name?"

"Hiei," he answered.

"Well then, Hiei," she began, "I don't think leaving you alone will be much of a problem for me."


	5. Chapter 5: Demonic Human

Chapter Five

Kurama sat on the bed next to the girl's in the infirmary, waiting for her to wake up. After hearing the details from Hiei, Koenma decided that Anise would be most comfortable waking up next to the gentle redhead instead of the moody fire demon and talking toddler.

He gazed at the unconscious girl as she took in a deep breath and blinked her eyes open. "Good morning," he offered softly, not wanting to startle her.

"Mornin'," she mumbled back, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She reached around with her hands, grasping at the air next to her. "Where are…" A yawn. "My glasses?"

Kurama stood up and opened a cabinet across the room. "Could you tell me your prescription, please?" She mumbled a response and Kurama fished around for the correct spectacles. Finding them, he tore the plastic wrapping off and returned to his seat on the bed next to hers. "Here you go," he said, offering the glasses.

She grabbed them. "Thank you," she replied, placing them on her face.

Kurama smiled gently when she finally looked at him. "My human name is Shuichi, but most call me Kurama."

She cocked her head, still slightly delirious from waking up. "Human name?"

He ignored the question. "You're Anise, correct?"

She nodded.

"Is there anything I can get for you? You probably haven't eaten anything in a while."

Her stomach growled at the mention of food. "Um…"

Kurama stood and walked toward the door. "I'll return in a few minutes. Please rest in the meantime."

She nodded her head as he left, reaching behind her and rearranging the pillows so she could sit up. She looked around, wondering why she was in the hospital. She leaned back, but found that no amount of shifting could get her in a comfortable position. It was as if she were… sitting on something. Reaching underneath the sheets, she withdrew a long, soft white tail. She tugged it, finding that it was, in fact, attached to her butt. Then she noticed the colorful markings on her hands and arms.

Kurama knocked quickly then entered the room. "I brought you some eggs and toast."

"I have a tail," she exclaimed, not hearing what he said.

"Ah, yes, I was just about to explain that," he assured her, sitting on the bed and handing her the tray.

"I have tattoos."

Kurama nodded. "In a way, yes."

_She is very afraid,_ Hiei spoke to Kurama's mind. _I am keeping her calm for now. Hurry up with the explanation, Fox, I'm tired of being here. _

She started nibbling at the toast, her eyes unfocused. "Is Hiei doing his mind thing again? I'm starting to get a headache from all these prickles in my head."

"Hiei tells me that you are worried about what's happening, so he's trying to keep your emotions in check while I explain to you what is going on," Kurama clarified, surprised. He had never met a human that could detect the presence of the Jagan in their mind before.

"Oh." She continued eating her breakfast.

"Is it ok if I start by asking you a few questions?" he asked tentatively.

"Sure," she responded monotonously.

Kurama cleared his throat. "According to what Hiei could find after scanning your memories, it seems that you have no recollection of the events that happened to you in the past eight months. We are pretty sure that you were kidnapped, but we'll need a little more information from you to determine if our hypothesis is valid. Can you tell me where you lived?"

She set the tray to the side and told Kurama what her address was. He wrote her answer down on a piece of paper.

"Did you live with your parents?"

"No, it was my Grandpa's house."

"Did you go to school?"

"Yes. I was a senior in high school."

"How old are you?"

"17… Although if it really has been eight months, I suppose that would make me 18 as of two months ago."

"Did you have a job?"

"Yes." She smiled, thinking back the parts of her dream that didn't involve the black cloaked man. "I worked part time at the florist shop after school."

Kurama wrote down the name of her high school and the florist shop.

"Alright. That should be enough for us to get started on the investigation," Kurama assured her, pocketing the paper. "So, Anise… What questions do you have for me?"

"Why do I have a tail?" she questioned, holding the fuzzy appendage up for Kurama to see.

Kurama closed his eyes in thought. "To be quite honest, I'm not entirely sure. After doing extensive lab work, we've determined that you still have the DNA of a regular human. That means that the tail, ears, and snake markings, which you called tattoos, are not written into your DNA."

At the mention of ears, Anise reached up and felt one. "Oh my God..."

"And although we haven't seen you using the powers of a fox or snake demon, we believe that since you possess the physical traits of them, you can probably generate energy and use the same kinds of powers as they do. And while ice, fire, and lightning demons do not have obvious physical characteristics, we know that you possess their abilities as well. There are also three other kinds of demonic powers you have access to, but we haven't determined what those are yet."

She swallowed as he paused. "So I've become some kind of… demon?"

Kurama opened his eyes and looked at her intently. "Considering your access to demonic powers and possession of human DNA, we've taken to calling you a Demonic Human."

She nodded, staring at the unfinished tray of food. "Why me?"

"I don't know," Kurama answered honestly.

She wrapped her arms around her knees, resting her forehead on them. "If that guy wasn't still here," she began, pointing to her head, "I'd be crying like a baby right now."

"I understand that this is a lot to take in." Kurama watched as her fox ears drooped downward and her tail eased around her legs. "We're going to take a look into your Grandpa's house, school, and work to see what we can figure out."

"When can I go home?"

Kurama looked down at the floor. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know if that will even be possible. Demons with physical appearances such as yours don't fit in with humans very well, and considering your lack of control regarding your powers, you could easily hurt someone."

She didn't move, just continued to sniffle.

"But we can try training you to control them," he offered.

She looked into his eyes after hearing that. "Could I at least visit my Grandpa after training?"

"I don't really have a say in that matter."

She looked away, returning her forehead to her knees. "Can you tell Hiei to let me have control of my emotions again? I promise I won't freak out and leave. And if he turned off my powers like he said he would, then I shouldn't be of any danger to anything." She removed the glasses and set them asside.

_Hiei?_ Kurama asked.

_Be prepared, _Hiei responded, _she's about to spill gems everywhere._

Anise felt the pricks in her mind halt. Tear gems littered the bed as she cried. "What are these?" she asked, holding one up for Kurama to see.

"Those are the gems that the Koorime ice demons create when they cry. In demon and human world alike, they are priceless."

She continued crying as she looked closely at it. "It's so beautiful."

Kurama nodded, standing up and working his way across the room. "Please get some rest. I'll do my best to figure out what happened to you. I don't know how long the investigation will take, but Koenma will let you stay here until Hiei and I return from our investigation."

"S-sure thing," she mumbled through tears, not caring as they started dropping to the floor.


	6. Chapter 6: Memories

Chapter Six

Hiei and Kurama stepped out of the portal and onto the empty sidewalk. The sun was only just rising on a dewy morning.

Kurama looked at the mailboxes close to the street. "It's just a little further down," he assured.

"Hn." Hiei thrust his hands in his pockets and followed the redhead. The houses they passed were various pastel colors with chipping paint. A few houses had boarded windows and sunk roofs. One was wrapped in yellow caution tape, having had a dead tree fall into the side of the house. Most lawns had long, unkempt grass littered with weeds, aluminum cans, and dog feces. The sidewalk they walked along was cracked and uneven, and the street filled with potholes. Old, rusted cars were parallel parked on the side haphazardly. "What a shit hole."

Kurama stopped at the last house on the block. It was once a green pastel, now chipping away like the rest of the houses. One very obvious difference in this house was the large, flowering garden that framed the path to the front door and sprinkled around the perimeter of the house. Kurama noted that it was overgrown and needed some attention, realizing that the girl was probably the one that planted and maintained it.

Hiei took the liberty of walking up to the door and knocking hard. It was a couple of minutes before the old man opened the door. "Hello?" he asked gently.

"Good morning," Kurama began, stepping forward and offering a hand. The old man shook it. "My name is Shuichi, and this is my partner, Hiei."

The man nodded. "And why are you here?"

Kurama cleared his throat. "We are investigating the disappearance of your granddaughter, Anise. Do you mind if we come in?"

"Oh?" he asked, chuckling. "Well, that is a mystery indeed."

Hiei rose an eyebrow. "I don't see how this is a laughing matter."

The man placed a wrinkled hand over his mouth, trying to cover his quiet chuckles. "Sorry, you're right; a missing girl is a very serious issue."

Kurama nodded. "Indeed."

"But you boys have me mistaken. I don't have a granddaughter," he admitted. "Thank goodness, too. If I did, and she went missing, I think I'd lose my mind worrying about her."

Hiei immediately turned his back to the man, the Jagan's purple glow peeking from beneath the headband he wore.

"Oh, I'm very sorry to disturb you," Kurama apologized. "We'll just be leaving then."

The glowing stopped, and the two demons walked back toward the street. The old man waved them off and closed the door.

"That old human is her grandfather," Hiei revealed.

"How can you tell?" Kurama questioned.

"He has memories of her."

"Then why…?"

"They've been repressed."

Kurama's eyes widened. "By his own psych or by someone else?"

"Hard to tell." Hiei kicked a pebble on the sidewalk as they continued on their trek to the girl's school. "If it had been a demon, the memories would have been destroyed completely. Considering that they're still there, if someone else were behind this, it could only be a creature as stupid as a human."

Kurama checked the next street sign, turning left. The two continued on in silence until they reached the school. The square brick building was faded from sunlight beating down on it for many years, and the flag that waved atop the pole was in tatters. A grey fence stretched around the entire property.

The two entered through the main doors and turned for the main office. A man was behind the desk they came to, typing away at the computer until he saw them walk up. "Do you need to call your parents?" The man rose an eyebrow, sizing up the demons who were young looking enough to pass for students. "Actually, I don't think I've seen you around before. Are you new students?"

"Sir, we're actually here investigating the disappearance of one of your students."

"Uh…" His eye brows rose. "Sorry, I don't know anything about that."

"Her name was Anise. Ring a bell?" Hiei interjected with a sneer.

The man looked back at his computer, typing. "I'm very sorry, but there's not a record for a student with that name."

Hiei scoffed. "Oh, really? Well, imagine that, Kurama."

"Are you sure you're at the right school?"

Kurama didn't answer. "Thank you for your time. We'll be leaving now."

"Have a good morning," the man said habitually.

The two demons walked outside and sat on a bench. Hiei closed his eyes in concentration as he worked his Jagan into the minds of the students. Kurama waited patiently, braiding a few strands of hair in the meantime. "This is her school. The students and faculty have memories of her, but they have also been repressed."

"And how many students attend that school?"

After a few moments, Hiei answered, "about 750."

"Hmmm…" _They wouldn't all have forgotten about her on their own. Someone is behind this. But who would be able to wipe clean the memories of over 700 people?_

"And why?" Hiei added to Kurama's thoughts.

"Do you suppose it will be the same with the manager of the florist shop?"

"Only one way to find out."

The two continued on foot. Hiei scanned the minds of people as they walked, mumbling to Kurama that a few of them remembered the girl but had their memories of her suppressed. The two didn't bother going into the florist shop after Hiei found much the same in the employees' memories.

"This doesn't make any sense," Kurama admitted. "Isn't Anise supposed to be just a regular human?"

Hiei nodded. "There wasn't anything particularly exciting about the girl's memories. She grew up with her grandfather, went to school, muddied her hands in the garden, and worked at a flower shop," he ticked each item on a finger.

"A human didn't do this, Hiei," Kurama inferred. "No human can repress the memories of almost a thousand people without anyone noticing."

"Then why are the memories repressed? Why are they not erased? If a demon wished for the memories of this girl to be gone, it would be so. Even a low class demon with some psychic abilities would be able to do so."

Kurama nodded. "I've read that it's much more difficult for a psychic to leave a memory intact and destroy a human's ability to recall it."

"Hn," Hiei agreed.

They walked into the wooded area of a park where no one could see them. Kurama called a portal to return to Koenma's office. "Then it seems a demon has allowed the memories of Anise within these humans to exist purposely, don't you think?"


	7. Chapter 7: The First Teacher

Chapter Seven

Koenma massaged his temples while listening to Kurama's report. "None of this adds up," he admitted, frustrated.

"What should we tell the girl?" Kurama asked.

"How should I know?" Koenma responded, throwing his hands up in the air. He then plopped his forehead onto his desk and sighed. "I've been trying to look into the girl's ancestry since you two left, but I can't seem to find anything."

"She's just a regular human, what more did you expect?" Hiei sneered, sitting in a seat across the room.

"No, no, you misunderstand. I can't _find_ anything. As in the files don't exist."

"How is that possible?" Kurama interjected. "Your files are created and updated automatically as humans are born and die."

"Did one of your idiotic ogres lose it?" the fire demon spoke, crossing his legs.

Koenma looked up and shook his head. "No files have been lost since Spirit World first came into existence."

"What is going on?" Kurama questioned, his eyes unfocused and his thoughts scattered.

Koenma shook his head again. "I wish I knew. But we may as well start training the girl instead of sitting here and twiddling our thumbs."

Kurama nodded. "You are right."

"I'll start looking for teachers, then." Koenma began, writing himself a note. "She possesses both the powers of a fox demon and a fire demon, so I'll have you two work on that for now. Kurama, I think it's best if you start."

The redhead nodded, leaving the office. The fire demon shoved his hands in his pockets, glaring at the toddler.

"Humans are not meant to learn how to become demons," Hiei remarked. "Do you really expect me to teach such a fragile creature how to manipulate and control fire? She will burn herself to death trying."

"I understand that she will have to overcome a lot to be able to use her powers," Koenma admitted. "But unless you know any demonic brain surgeons that can remove the demonic parts of her brain without killing her, I don't see any other alternatives."

Hiei scoffed. "Oh, how noble of you." The fire demon rolled his eyes. "I know what you're planning, you manipulative bastard. Your last Spirit Detectives died and she's your only alternative."

"It's not like I'm forcing it on her!" the prince responded, looking into Hiei's eyes with a challenge.

"Not in so many words, I suppose. But does she really have any other options? She can't return to human world, she couldn't survive in demon world… And here you are, Prince of the Spirit World, offering her a home and a chance to learn what she's become. How can she ever repay you?"

Koenma's face turned red. "And just when did you start caring about things like this? About humans and what might become of them?"

Hiei growled low in his throat. "I don't give a shit about humans, and I couldn't care less about the one you keep trapped here. I just have better things to do than teach a pathetic little girl how to play with fire." Hiei slammed the door as he flitted out, rattling the entire office.

* * *

Kurama walked to the guestroom that Anise was assigned to and knocked. "Come in," she called weakly from the other side of the door.

"How are you feeling?" he asked gently, hearing a tiny "tink" sound.

"I've been better." She dropped another tear gem into the jar positioned on her legs. She sat on the windowsill watching puffy yellow clouds pass, a tear falling every few moments. "That prince let me have this jar so I could keep them all. I figure that I can give some to Grandpa when I go home. Maybe go to college…"

Kurama smiled sadly. "Those are both wonderful ideas. Maybe someday things will work out that way."

Anise nodded, catching Kurama's "maybe" and dropping another gem onto her lap. "Did you find anything out from your investigation?"

"Not yet," Kurama responded. "Koenma is still searching."

"I see."

"He asked that I start teaching you how to use some of your powers in the meantime."

Anise looked toward the redhead, her head cocked and her shining eyes full of curiosity. "You don't really look like a demon, you know. I always imagined demons would be big and ugly, with horns and claws."

Kurama smiled. "Oh, there are plenty of those."

"So why are you so… normal looking?"

"Remember when I told you my human name?"

"Yeah. Shuichi, right? Does that mean you're from Japan?"

He nodded, sitting next to her on the windowsill. "My human mother gave birth to the human form that you see before you. Before that, though, I was known in Demon World as the Legendary Bandit Yoko Kurama. I was a very powerful demon and I took whatever I wanted. I was hunted down by Spirit World and eventually killed."

Anise gasped. "But then, how…?"

"My soul escaped from my body, and I fled to Human World. I implanted my soul into the unborn child on my mother, eventually being reborn in this human body." Kurama noticed that since he began his explanation, the girl's tears stopped falling.

Anise nodded, processing the new information. "But if you're in a human body, can you still use your powers?"

Kurama reached into his hair and grabbed a small, brown seed. He held his palm open and charged it with his energy, creating a faint blue outline around the perimeter of the seed. It burst open and sprouted a green stem that grew upwards, budding, then opening into a deep red rose. "Yes, I can still use my powers."

Gasping, Anise looked intently at the rose. She took it from Kurama's offering hand, blushing slightly and giving him a small smile.

"This is the power of a fox demon, such as myself. Since you also possess the powers of a fox demon, you will also be able to create and manipulate plants."

Anise thumped her tail at that, her ears twitching. "You don't have ears and a tail, though."

Kurama smirked. "Not in this form." He stood up then, taking a few steps back.

Anise watched as the man before her changed. His vibrant red hair turned to silver and his pink jumpsuit changed into a long, white robe. He grew taller, his muscles growing slightly. His green eyes changed to a bright gold as he held her stare. When the change was done, she noticed the ears and tail.

"You know," he began in a much deeper voice then before, causing Anise to shiver slightly. "A white fox demon is very rare in Demon World. I've heard of them before, but never seen one." He sat next to her again, much closer this time, and began stroking one of Anise's ears. "I wonder if the stories are true."

"What stories?" she asked, breathless and blushing much more deeply.

He smiled at her mischievously. "That they are much more… _sensitive_…"


	8. Chapter 8: Research

Chapter Eight

Koenma waddled through the narrow passage in the vast basement library of his castle. A small, white orb floated in the air above his head, glowing brightly and illuminating the old, dusty spines. His finger brushed along the books, stopping on a large one. "Grab this one, too."

"Yes, my lord," the ogre responded, hurrying to grasp the spine and place it atop the wobbling pile he was already carrying. "Is there anything else?"

"No, I think this will do for now. Let's go take a seat over there." Koenma pointed toward the entrance of the library, walking quickly.

The ogre followed after the toddler prince, carefully balancing the stack and cocking his head to see around it. Another white light caught his attention near the entrance. "Sir, I think someone else is here."

Koenma nodded. "That would be the newest addition to our castle. Kurama must have given her a key to the library."

The ogre grumbled. "Is he allowed to do that?"

The toddler shrugged. "Not really, but she's already here." The ogre dropped the books onto the nearest table, the loud slam shaking the entire room.

"Oh!" Anise gasped when she heard the noise, covering her sensitive fox ears with her hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't know someone else was going to be here. I was told no one came down here."

"That's true." Koenma spoke, having changed into his more mature form. "It feels like I haven't been down here in over a century."

Anise looked carefully at the man in front of her, noticing immediately that he had a binky in his mouth. "Who are you?"

Koenma stood up straighter. "I am Prince Koenma."

Anise bowed. "Then you are the one that granted me hospitality. Thank you for your kindness, sir."

"Yes, well…" the prince began, not used to anyone taking his position seriously, "it's no trouble. Is there a reason you came down here?"

Anise straightened. "Kurama told me that I should start researching interesting plants. He showed me that ordinary plants have their most unique traits highly exaggerated when demon energy is applied to them. Before I can have the fox demon side of me unlocked, he asked me to pick out some plants that I think I could use as weapons or traps if I needed them."

"So you've seen his rose whip, then?"

"Yes, it's amazing!" she exclaimed, her eyes unfocused as she remembered. "I already know a lot about flower arranging, but I don't know much about plants that don't have pretty blossoms. Kurama said I could find the books I need down here. Do you think you could help me find them?"

Koenma nodded, watching her smile. He had never seen her do anything but cry, and the change was refreshing. Her brown eyes held his. The ogre elbowed him after a few too many moments, knocking him out of the gaze. "Oh!" He cleared his throat. "Sorry, what did you say?"

She stifled a giggle behind her hand. "Do you know where the books on plants are kept? I'm afraid I don't know my way around your library."

"Yes, of course!" He turned, glaring briefly at the blue ogre. "Please, follow me."

She walked behind him, reaching toward the orb that followed behind her. "It's nice that these little things follow you around in here."

"Yes, it would be totally dark without them."

"How do they work?" She reached closer, finding that it gave off no heat, but rather a slight chill. She tried touching it, but her hand seemed to phase through.

"They are spirits," he responded, turning down a hallway. "When a human dies, there are many different options that his spirit has for spending his afterlife. This place is especially popular for avid book lovers."

"Wow… so who did this one used to be?" Anise asked, suddenly feeling a little guilty for touching it.

Koenma stopped and turned around, looking at the spirit. "Only it knows. Unless I see the body it comes out of, it's hard to say. For a person that just died, the spirit's physical form matches that of the body it came from. As a spirit ages, that form becomes forgotten, until all that's left is a glowing light"

"Can they hear us?"

"If it cares to," Koenma answered, continuing to make his way down the hall of books, turning again. "They sense our presence and offer us a guiding light as we walk through the library. That is their main purpose."

"I see," she responded, turning her attention to the books. "What language are these in? I don't see anything in English."

"It's not a language that humans are familiar with. This particular segment of the library is about the history of Spirit World, and English didn't exist when most of them were written."

The continued on for a while. The books were much thicker than any she had ever seen. Koenma stopped, fingering the spines of the books in front of him. "I hope these are in English at least."

He chuckled. "Yes, a few of them are." He grabbed a spine and tugged, offering her the book.

"Thanks."

He grabbed one more and started walking back the way they came. "So do you have any ideas about the kinds of plants you might be considering?"

"A little. I was thinking about the cactus and venus fly traps for a start, but neither can really be used as a weapon. Kurama told me about how some plants have seed pods that shoot the seeds like bullets, and I was thinking that I could try something like that. I don't know any species that do that, so I want to look them up." She sat down at the table at the front of the library once they returned, opening the book.

"You'll want this one, as well," Koenma offered, placing the book he carried on the table for her.

She opened it, looking at the pictures of strange, colorful plants. "What are they?"

"This is a book about plants that grow in Demon World. These plants are pretty viscous even without having spirit or demonic energy sprout their seeds for them, so they could be useful to you."

"Thank you! That was very nice of you." She smiled at him, looking back down at the book too quickly to notice the prince's blush.

"I'm just glad I could help," Koenma admitted, playing with the bottom of his shirt. "Um… do you think I could sit down here next to you? I have some research to do as well."

"Go ahead," Anise replied. "So what are you looking up?"

Koenma furrowed his brows together. "There is a lot of mystery about your case, and honestly, I'm not sure where to look to get any answers. I've been searching through demonic abilities to see if I can find anything helpful, but nothing really explains why your brain has become that way. I've decided to try looking through extinct demon species to see if anything adds up."

She nodded. "Sorry for being so confusing." She looked down into her lap. "I wish I could help you out."

"You have your own work to do. I know that you desire to return to the human world, and in your current state, that is impossible."

"Even with the powers turned off?"

"Yes," Koenma sighed, not particularly happy to see the frown decorating her face. "What Hiei did to shut off your demonic side is not permanent. A demon's healing capabilities are far superior to the average human. If Hiei had done to a demon what he did to you, the demon would be able to reestablish all connections within about a week. Since you are a human, it will likely take you… about a month to do the same."

"Are you saying that I have to master all of my demonic parts by that time?" Anise asked, her pleading eyes looking into Koenma's.

"No, no!" he assured her, waving his hands for emphasis. She looked like she might cry at any moment, so he dragged his chair closer to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I can have Hiei work on you again before the month is up, so don't worry about it."

She sighed. "He didn't seem particularly happy to do it the first time."

"Oh, him? Nah, he… he _loves_ doing stuff like that," Koenma responded, squeezing her shoulder gently.

"If you say so."

Koenma released her. "Let's get to our research then, alright?"


	9. Chapter 9: Seeds

Chapter Nine

Anise and Kurama exited out of a portal that led into a wide, empty field. She spun around, laughing. "I forgot how blue the sky was!"

"It's been a while since you came to human world, hasn't it?" Kurama asked, watching her. He tucked a stray strand of red hair behind his ear.

She collapsed onto the ground, landing on the tail she still wasn't accustomed to having. "Ouch! Yes," she exclaimed, rubbing the poor appendage and stroking out the fur. "How do you get used to this thing? I can barely sit down without squishing it."

"It's different when you're born with it," he explained, sitting down next to her. "Of course, in this form, I hardly have to worry about having a tail. Sometimes I find myself overcompensating. Once you've trained for a while, you'll learn how to retract the physical fox traits."

She smiled at that. "And how do you get used to all the noise?" she asked. "These ears can pick up sounds I've never heard before."

Kurama nodded. "I understand what you mean." He reached up and scratched behind an ear, smiling when he heard her sigh of pleasure. "And being a white fox on top of that makes things a little more difficult for you."

"Uh huh…" she mumbled, not really hearing him, relishing the feeling.

He stopped his movements, reaching down and grasping a few strands of her black hair, watching them slip between his fingers as he pulled away. "This contrast is unheard of in demon world, you know."

Anise looked away, embarrassed that she had so thoroughly enjoyed his attentions. "Um… what do you mean?"

"If you had been born a fox demon, your hair, tail, and ear color would all be the same."

"Kind of how yours are all silver, right?" she asked, turning back to him, but not looking at his face.

"That's right." He stood then, holding out a hand to help her up.

She took it, pulling. "Kurama, why did we come here? You know I can't really be seen by humans…" Looking down at her feet, her long black bangs covered her face.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a couple of seeds. "There are no humans around for miles," he assured her. "Anise, we came here to try out the two plants you showed me from your book. Although you don't need soil, water, or light to grow plants when using your energy, you should still have a good idea of what these plants are like normally before you try manipulating them."

She gasped when Kurama grabbed her hand, tugging her to a sunny area at the top of a hill. "They will take months to grow to maturity, though," she said, sitting on her knees at the top of the hill.

Kurama crouched down next to her. "I can help that along." He pushed a finger into the soft soil, dropping a seed into it then covering it up. "This first seed is for the Orange Jewelweed," he explained.

She watched him close his eyes, a slight gust of wind picking up his red-pink hair. The ground beneath her became warm suddenly, and she realized that Kurama was using his energy to grow the seed. It sprouted from the ground and took shape, growing leaves and buds. It stopped at about 3 feet tall with tiny, spotted orange blossoms and long, oblong seed capsules.

Kurama's eyes opened. "I didn't manipulate this plant to do anything more than grow rapidly. If you found one in the wild, it would look just like this," he explained, standing. "When you brush a mature seed pod, it will burst open, flinging the seeds a reasonable distance."

She stood up as well, admiring the few tiny flowers.

Kurama stroked a seed pod, and she watched as the capsule curled back on itself, shooting the seeds a couple of feet into the air before they landed. "It's not very impressive by itself, but by manipulating the structure, you can turn it into a weapon." Kurama grabbed a seed from the ground and sprouted it from his hand. The green tendrils wrapped around his arm and torso, anchoring it. The seed pod was elongated and as thick as a rifle. He held his arm out, pointing at a tree a few dozen feet away.

The pod shot a seed out so quickly that Anise didn't even know Kurama had moved until she heard the tree split and fall to the ground. "Wow!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands in admiration.

Kurama recalled the plant into the seed again, pocketing it and turning toward the girl. He grabbed her hand gently and placed a different seed into her palm, curling her fingers around it and holding the fist. "You will learn to do the same with this seed, the Mexican Petunia. While the Jewelweed was pretty powerful, the Petunia can naturally shoot with about 3 times the power."

She nodded, holding the tiny seed carefully. When she opened her hand, she saw the black speck was the size of a dulled pencil tip. "It's hard to believe that something so tiny can turn into something so… deadly." She gulped, looking at the remains of the tree. "Why do I have to learn this stuff, anyway? I don't want to harm anyone."

"Of course you don't." Kurama pulled the communicator out of his pocket. "But your powers make you very desirable. You are the most powerful creature that has even been brought into the three worlds. If a demon was able to control you, imagine what might happen. You've already managed to shake the three worlds with your powers." He watched her look down at her feet. "You are extremely vulnerable to manipulation since you have no knowledge of resisting mind control."

"So why don't you teach me about that?" she asked quietly.

He placed a hand on her chin, pulling her face up to meet his gaze. "Anise, you cannot even separate your emotions from your powers at this point. If you can't control your own emotions, how do you expect to be able to control your own mind?"

"I don't know," she admitted.

Kurama smiled at her. "It will come with time and training."

She pulled back from him. "Kurama, how can I possibly learn all of this? I have seven other powers to learn about you're done teaching me!" She turned away from him, holding herself.

"Koenma is going out of his way to find teachers that will suit you," he assured her. "Learning about your powers is not going to be easy, but I promise to do my best to help you."

A portal appeared a few feet in front of her, and she turned back to him, frowning. "Do we have to go back already?"

He nodded, ushering her through. "For now, Hiei has to turn your fox powers back on so that you can start learning."


	10. Chapter 10: Significance

Chapter Ten

Hiei was waiting in her room when Anise returned from the field with Kurama. The fire demon sat on the window seat, watching her close the door and take a seat on the bed. "Are you ready?"

Her eyebrows rose. "You mean… right now?"

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"But it's not even dark yet!" she reasoned, pointing to the yellow sky of Spirit World. "How am I supposed to go to sleep?"

Hiei stood and walked over. "You don't have to be tired to sleep," he said, pointing to his uncovered Jagan. "Did you really think I came here just to say 'hi' and walk off?"

She shook her head, scooting away from him. "N-no…"

He watched her actions. "I'm not going to coddle you like the fox does, but I'm not going to eat you either." His face scrunched up just thinking about it.

She couldn't help the giggle that escaped. "Um, right."

He glared at her. "What's so funny, girl?"

She stifled her laugh behind her hands, shaking her head back and forth. He flashed out of sight, suddenly appearing next to her. His face came close to hers and he opened the Jagan eye, compelling her into sleep and entering her dreams.

* * *

Hiei found himself at the bottom of a grassy hill underneath the sunny blue sky of what looked like the Human World. Anise stood at the top of the hill, spinning in circles until she collapsed. He flitted to the top of the hill, standing over her as she laughed. "Where is this? I thought we'd be in the flower shop again."

"Jeez, I don't have the same dream every time I go to sleep, you know," she giggled, sitting up. "This looks like the hill Kurama and I just came back from. It really was a beautiful place."

Her eyes were far away, and he could feel the subtle heat from her blushing cheeks when she spoke Kurama's name. He scoffed. "Why am I not surprised?" He stomped a few feet away, plopping down and trying to focus on his task.

She watched him go, confused. "Why are you so mad?"

"Shut up, I'm working."

Anise huffed. "Excuse me, it's kind of hard to enjoy a good dream when you're over there stomping around and being mad."

Hiei didn't respond, hoping that she would leave him alone if he ignored her. She stood and walked over to him, tapping his shoulder. "Human, this may be a dream, but I assure you that cutting off a hand would feel real enough."

"I have a name, you know." She sat next to him, leaving a few inches of space.

Hiei shot up, glaring at her. "You want to know what's pissing me off so much, huh?"

She held his gaze, but the anger in his eyes made it difficult to keep the courage. She swallowed and nodded.

"You are probably the strongest being that has ever existed in any of the three worlds, but you are ruled by your emotions and a misguided belief that you are important. You think that you, some random little human girl, are so significant! But you're not. Koenma doesn't care about you. Kurama doesn't care about you. I certainly don't give a shit about you. Whoever did this to you doesn't care about you. The rest of the world doesn't give a damn about you. The only thing that anyone cares about is your power, not you."

Anise dropped her gaze at his words, feeling tears welling in her eyes.

"All of you humans are the same," Hiei continued, pacing. "You think that the world revolves around you, that everyone cares about every little detail in your life, but they don't. If your powers were given to some other human, we wouldn't have even known about your existence. You would have lived, grown old, and died, and no one would care."

"S-stop…" Anise whispered weakly.

"And human females are probably the stupidest. If a man so much as glances at a woman, she thinks he must be in love with her. So let me tell you something before you start falling in love with the Fox," he said, walking in front of her and grabbing her chin. Tear gems slid down her cheeks as he looked into her eyes. "Kurama is a demon, not a human. That husk of his might be human, but the soul inside it is fully demon. The only humanity Kurama has is with that human mother of his, and there is no room for you. He treats you the same as any other girl he meets, and you are not special to him."

Anise pulled away from Hiei, fumbling her way to the top of the hill. The sky darkened into a starless, moonlit night. She collapsed at the top of the hill, taking deep breaths and trying to calm herself. She felt the tingle in the back of her mind and knew that Hiei had moved on to his work. She looked toward the bottom of the hill, but he had moved somewhere else. She stared into the sky and started drawing constellations as he worked, thinking through what he said.

After a couple of hours, the tingling stopped, and she felt a new energy swirling inside of her. It was gentle and warm, and she embraced it through her whole body.

She heard Hiei walk toward her. "It's time to leave, human."

Anise nodded and stood up. She looked into his crimson eyes with her own. "Thank you, Hiei, for what you told me."

He raised an eyebrow at that.

"I'm not convinced that humans are stupid and pathetic creatures with no redeeming qualities, but… I know that I am weak, and I have a lot to learn."

He nodded, smirking. "Hn. Kurama is not the only teacher that you will have." He placed a hand on her forehead, and when she opened her eyes, she was awake and alone in her room.


	11. Chapter 11: First Fight

Chapter Eleven

Anise stretched her muscles in the early morning. She was alone on the outdoor arena that Koenma had built for her to practice her skills, the amber sky shining bright above her. After six weeks of training, she felt strong and confident in her skills as a plant manipulator. Kurama even gave her a new fighting outfit for today's occasion, and the light material felt wonderful. Her black pants were fitted loosely and had a small hole in the back for her tail to fit through. She wore small, black cotton shoes without laces and a white cotton tank top that fit tight. A bright blue belt, the same color as the blue of her snake markings, rested on her waist and held a small seed satchel.

"Good morning!"

Anise turned around, seeing Kurama wave at her. Behind him was Hiei and a tall, orange-haired individual. She waved back.

Kurama stopped in front of her, smiling. "Anise, I'd like to introduce you to your fighting partner," he started, ushering the unknown person to his side. "This is Kuwabara."

"Hello," Anise offered, holding a hand out.

He took it, shaking firmly. "Hi there!"

Anise cringed at the pressure, but kept her spirits up. "Um, so what kind of demon are you?"

"Oh, me? I'm no demon." He crossed his arms behind his head, grinning wide. "I'm just a regular human."

Anise looked at Kurama, confused. "I wasn't about to throw a demon at you without making sure you could handle it," he explained. He placed a hand on Anise's shoulder, squeezing. "And Kuwabara also has an honor code. He refuses to harm a woman, so you don't have to worry about being hit."

"Then how are we supposed to fight?" she asked.

"Just see if you can hit him," Hiei piped in, smirking at the thought.

"But won't that hurt?"

Kuwabara laughed. "I've fought plenty of demons, so don't worry about me." He raised his arms up, flexing his impressive muscles.

Anise nodded, turned around and walking to the other side of the arena. "Well, I'm ready when you are."

Kuwabara rolled his shoulders back and stretched briefly. He gave a thumbs up. "Ready. Let us know when to start, Kurama."

Kurama and Hiei stepped outside of the ring. The long-haired demon looked to both participants, nodding to each of them. Raising an arm, he shouted "fight!"

Anise fumbled for a seed, her hands shaking. She fished around haphazardly, gripping the tiny seed and pulling it out, spilling a few others on the ground. Looking up, she noticed that Kuwabara had his hands in his pockets, slouching. She cocked her head. "Um, the fight started, you know."

Kuwabara shrugged. "All I'm gonna do is avoid being hit, and you haven't tried anything funny yet."

"Oh…" Anise stood straight, letting out a sigh of relief.

Hiei sneered. "Don't kid yourself into thinking this battle is anything like the real world, human."

Anise glared at him, having learned over the past few weeks that he was permanently grouchy and full of insults. The only way to have any kind of meaningful conversation was to treat him the same way he treats anyone else. "I'm not stupid, Hiei."

"If you can't even hit this idiot," Hiei started, tilting his head in Kuwabara's direction, "then you are."

"Hey!" Kuwabara shouted, clearly offended. "I'm in college, you know!"

Hiei scoffed, clearly not impressed.

Anise growled, something that only happened when she was angry or annoyed. Kurama explained that it was due to her fox nature. She was not about to let Hiei call her stupid, and she decided to redirect her glare toward Kuwabara. She charged the seed between her fingers, allowing the green tendrils to curl around her torso and arms. A seed pod sprouted at the end of each arm, long and thin as a finger. She aimed both arms at her target. "You should probably avoid this."

She watched as Kuwabara brought both fists in front of him, curling around an imaginary rod. "I think I can handle whatever you've got."

Anise charged the pods, feeding energy into the plant. "Handle this!" she shouted, firing both pods straight into his chest.

A cloud of smoke enveloped Kuwabara on impact. "You'll have to do better than that," Kuwabara retorted, walking out of the smoke holding a glowing, orange sword.

Anise's eyes widened. "I thought you said you weren't a demon!"

Kuwabara chuckled. "You don't need to be a demon to have one of these."

Growling, Anise pointed at Kuwabara again, firing another round from each pod. Kuwabara ducked and rolled, just barely dodging them. Anise fired again and again, not giving him a chance to slow down. Kuwabara blocked a few with his sword and dodged the rest. Anise ran toward him, shooting, hoping that the closer she got the less he'd be able to dodge. He held up his sword, disintegrating the seed-bullets.

"Come on, girl!" Hiei called, impatient.

Anise fired bullets with her right hand, reaching into the seed pouch with her left to grab another seed since she was almost out of ammo. She willed it to grow, and an additional two pistol-pods appeared on each hand. She fired multiple shots, each one zipping into Kuwabara's sword and immediately burning into dust. She tried aiming one hand for his head and the other for his feet, but Kuwabara leaped to avoid the low seeds and blocked the high ones. Part of the stadium cracked on impact.

"You're going to have to try something different, Anise!" Kurama encouraged.

Anise looked around, desperate and pressured. She fished for seeds, but the bag was empty. She looked around the stadium for the seeds she dropped, but Kuwabara was standing on top of them. She smiled, thinking of an idea. Her hands glowed with energy, and she closed her eyes to concentrate.

"Are you giving up?" Kuwabara taunted. "Come on, I'm sure you'll hit me eventually!"

Her eyes opened, and she aimed both arms at him. "I won't miss this time."

Kuwabara smirked, stepping to the side. "What?" he asked, looking down to find his foot snagged. Plant tendrils wrapped around his legs tight, and he couldn't move. He looked up, and Anise was only a couple of feet away, aiming at his face. "Oh… shit…"

"Do you concede?" Anise asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Not quite," Kuwabara retorted, slicing the vines at his feet quickly and grabbing one of her arms, swinging her around and grabbing another. He held her hands pointing down, safely away from his body. "Do you concede, kid?"

"I'm not a kid," she growled, annoyed.

Kuwabara looked her up and down, a lewd expression on his face. "I can see that."

Hiei snorted. "Don't pollute my mind with those kinds of thoughts, moron."

"Stay out of my head and it won't be a problem, shrimp."

Kurama raised an eyebrow at the banter, walking forward and helping Anise recall her plants back into the seeds. "You were in a serious, committed relationship with Yukina when you started college. I don't think she'd appreciate you looking at other girls that way."

Kuwabara looked at Kurama confused. "Huh?"

Hiei growled low in his throat, thrusting his hands in his pockets and turning away. "It certainly wouldn't surprise me if she finally discovered how much of an idiot he is and left him."

Kuwabara looked between the two demons. "Uh, what are you guys talking about?"

"Who's Yukina?" Anise asked.

Kuwabara shrugged. "I don't know what they're talking about either."

Kurama walked in front of Kuwabara. "Are you telling us that you don't know who Yukina is?"

He nodded, cocking his head. "Did we meet her at the Dark Tournament or something? I'm not too good with names."

Hiei flitted in front of Kuwabara, Jagan eye exposed, exploring Kuwabara's mind. The human wobbled and collapsed on the ground, the sudden psychic assault overwhelming. "His memories have been repressed," Hiei reported. "He hasn't seen her in four months."

Kurama's eyes widened. "Then where's Yukina?"


	12. Chapter 12: Yukina

Chapter Twelve

"Hmmm…" Genkai mused quietly to herself before taking a sip of tea. Kurama sat next to her on the outdoor porch of her temple, holding his head in his hands. "So this… Yukina. She's some kind of ice demon?"

"Yes," Kurama answered.

"And you say she was living with me?"

"Yes."

She took another sip of tea. "And she was Kuwabara's… girlfriend?"

Kurama nodded in his hands. The wind rustled his red hair, and a few birds chirped in a nearby tree.

Another sip. "I would be much more likely to believe your story if you didn't mention the part about Kuwabara, you know."

Kurama looked at the old woman hard. "Now is not the time to be making jokes."

She shrugged, not returning his look and finishing her tea. "I'm not sure what you expect _me_ to do about this."

Kurama stood up, not surprised with how calmly she was taking the news that someone had messed with her memories. "I'll try looking in her room to start."

"Her room?" Genkai asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've been through every room in this place in the past four months, and there is no room belonging to a female ice demon. Just because she disappeared doesn't mean her things go with her."

She had a point, Kurama admitted to himself. "It's still worth a shot." He left the old woman outside, walking into the temple. He passed by Hiei on his way inside. The fire demon sat in the middle of the large room, eyes closed except the Jagan. "Hiei?" Kurama asked.

_Not now,_ Hiei responded in Kurama's mind, almost knocking the fox demon back from the emotion behind those words. Hiei had been sitting in that same position searching for his lost sister since the two arrived over an hour ago. It had never taken this long for him to find a demon before, which was very worrying.

Kurama continued to his destination, leaving Hiei behind. Yukina's bedroom door was closed, and he was surprised to find it locked. "Genkai?" he shouted.

"What?" she answered on her way to taking the empty tea cup to the kitchen sink.

"Why is this door locked?"

"None of the doors are locked here. I think I can take of myself, thank you."

Kurama shook his head. "I mean this door, the one that leads to Yukina's room."

Genkai walked over to him. She looked at the place where Kurama was pointing, her lips pursed. She bent forward, looking closely. "Kurama?"

"Yes?"

"This is a wall."

Had the situation been different, Kurama might have laughed at the ridiculousness of that statement. Instead, he broke the lock on the door and walked inside. Yukina's room was filled with her possessions, still in meticulous order, but covered in a light layer of dust. Kurama walked inside, finding no signs of a struggle.

"Kurama?"

"Yes, Genkai?"

"Can you walk through walls?"

Kurama walked back out of the room, closing the door. "No."

"I didn't think so." The old woman's eyes hardened in palpable concern, and she let out a shaky breath.

Kurama looked behind him. "You couldn't see Yukina's room?"

Genkai shook her head. "It looked like you disappeared into the wall."

"Whoever did this was very thorough," Hiei piped in, walking up behind Genkai who was touching the door, cautiously opening it and sticking a hand through. She pulled back after a few moments.

The redhead nodded. "I figured as much. After all, he was very careful to suppress the memories of everyone Anise ever interacted with, even minimally."

"Where's that idiot's spirit beast?" Hiei asked.

Genkai's eyes darkened and she shrugged dismissively. "Puu hasn't been very active, lately. He stays in the surrounding forest most of the time. He only really comes to the temple if it's raining."

Hiei flitted off.

"Is Puu depressed?" Kurama asked, guiding Genkai to the dining room table to take a seat and sitting across from her.

"I'm not sure. He was very happy here after the dimwit left him with me, but that stopped about four months ago," she began. "He came up to me one day extremely agitated about something. He went on a rampage inside the temple. He cracked walls and ripped up the flooring. I…" Genkai took a deep breath, sighing. "I yelled at him. I shooed him out of the temple, and that's a really tame way of saying it. I imagine it's why Puu doesn't come back to the temple much these days."

Kurama listed intently. "Yukina disappeared four months ago."

Genkai nodded. "I thought something might have happened to Yusuke. I'm glad he's ok." There wasn't much emotion behind those words, and Kurama wasn't sure she really meant what she said.

"Did Yusuke come by when Puu was going through that episode?"

"No, he never came. The dimwit hasn't been here since that day at the beach a couple years ago."

Kurama knew that Yusuke's duties in demon world were extremely important and consumed almost all of his time, but he was connected to Puu and would have known when the spirit beast was distressed.

Hiei returned, walking into the temple and sitting down next to Kurama. "He remembers her. He watched her walk out of her room in some kind of… trance. She walked into the woods and Puu followed her. There was a person in the woods, too dark to see, and as soon as Yukina was close enough to him, he grabbed her. Puu tried to help, but the person pressed a button on his wrist and they both disappeared." Hiei's words were calm, but Kurama could tell that the fire demon could barely contain his emotions.

Genkai lit up a cigarette. "That clears up a few things."

Hiei glared at her. "Perhaps for you it does, but Kurama and I are left with more questions than answers."

"Where is Yukina?" Kurama asked, clearly voicing the most obvious question.

Hiei growled. "I've been looking, but she isn't in Demon World or Human World."

Kurama frowned. "Does that mean she's… dead?" he whispered carefully.

Hiei shook his head. "I don't know. She's not… gone. Every time I look for her, the Jagan leads me to Anise."

The room was stiflingly silent as a sudden realization came to the fox demon. "Does that mean…?" Kurama began, unable to finish the horrible thought.

"Those Koorime powers had to have come from somewhere. It would have been extremely difficult to obtain an ice maiden from the island in Demon World." Hiei choked up slightly, hiding his face. "He must have taken the powers from Yukina."


	13. Chapter 13: Emotions

Chapter Thirteen

Anise felt the tingling in her mind only moments before Hiei slammed the door to her room closed behind himself. He began pacing with his eyes closed and his Jagan open and glowing. The tension was nearly tangible. One hand massaged the nape of his neck while the other hung at his side in a tight fist. She could almost hear his teeth grinding together. "Hiei? Are you ok?"

He stopped mid-stride and opened his eyes, glaring at Anise and approaching her quickly. "Do I look fucking ok?" he ground out through still clenched teeth.

Anise shook her head, backing into the window seat.

Seeing her fear, Hiei walked off and went back to pacing in her bedroom, all three eyes open and staring at his feet as he walked. Anise huddled into the window seat, waiting for him to leave so she could be alone. After a minute, he stopped pacing and began searching through her drawers and trunk, even looking under her bed. She hugged her knees to her chest tight, confused and anxious as he continued to touch her things. Having her mind probed on top of the search was even more violating, and she tried to think of nothing but breathing.

"Hiei!" Kurama shouted from the hallway, pounding on Anise's door as the fire demon continued to raid her things.

Anise stood to get the door as quickly as she could, the relief palpable on her face, but a blast of psychic energy pushed her back down. Hiei strode toward her quickly, grabbing her shoulders harshly and invading the deepest depths of her mind. "H-Hiei?" she asked, before she lost the ability the ability to form words, on the precipice of unconsciousness.

A small green vine crept under the door and reached for the lock, nimbly undoing it and allowing Kurama inside. "What are you doing?" the fox demon demanded, grabbing Hiei's shoulder and spinning him around. Anise drooped to the floor, exhausted and sweating, unable to move or say anything.

"Bringing Yukina back, what does it look like?" Hiei shoved Kurama back, grabbing Anise again and sitting her up against the wall.

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Kurama retorted, shoving Hiei back and away from the poor girl. He gently held Anise and picked her up from the ground, placing her in the bed. He had seen Hiei do many cruel things throughout their friendship and heard of many worse, but never could he have imagined his friend probing another's mind so carelessly. The Jagan was a powerful weapon capable of turning a mind to mush, and Hiei knew this. Using the Jagan while extremely emotional could easily lead to an accident, and it was especially dangerous if the use was fueled by anger.

Hiei growled. "I don't know, but I have to try."

When Hiei walked toward the bed, Kurama stood in his way. "Destroying her mind isn't going to solve anything."

"Neither is standing here and talking about it." Hiei unsheathed his sword slowly.

Kurama reached for his hair, his finger flexing to grasp for his rose whip at the first sign of attack. "Don't fight me over this, Hiei. You know as well as I do that if any part of Yukina's soul was inside her, you would have already found it."

"The Jagan is never wrong. It's telling me that Yukina is there, and I must find her." Hiei crouched and readied his sword. "Move or I'll have no choice but to attack."

"Hiei! Please, see reason!" Kurama begged, walking carefully toward the fire demon. "The Jagan eye does _not_ lie, about that you're right. But it can sense more than just souls. It sees the body and the energy of your target as well, and that can only mean one thing…"

Hiei's eyes dropped, and he relaxed his sword arm.

"Her soul and body are nowhere to be found," Koenma spoke, entering the room in his more adult form. "Even her file has gone missing."

Kurama nodded. "And that means that the only thing the Jagan can find of her is the Koorime energy that now resides inside Anise."

Hiei fell to his knees, his sword clanging on the ground. "No…"

Kurama crouched down next to his friend. "Come on, Hiei."

Hiei shook his head slowly. "I need to be alone." He grabbed his sword and lifted himself with it, struggling as the weight of the situation suddenly fell upon his back. He reached for the window, throwing it open and perching upon the sill with one last, torturous glance at the unconscious form of Anise before disappearing, the wind blowing gently at his back.

Anise slowly opened her eyes and rubbed her temples as she sat up. The ache of deep probing rushed forward suddenly, and she clutched her aching head. "What just happened? Where's Hiei?"

Kurama sat on the bed and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Anise…"

She noticed that he didn't really answer her questions, but the sad look on his face kept her from bringing it up. "Are you ok, Kurama?"

His eyes looked deeply into hers. He struggled with words, not sure how to explain the horror of what was happening.

"Anise, we think we know where your powers might have come from," Koenma interjected, walking in front of her.

Anise nodded to the spirit prince, then looked to Kurama, who had his head in his hands. "Do I want to know?" she asked honestly. She'd never seen Kurama so upset, and the way Hiei stormed into her room earlier was extremely alarming.

Koenma sighed, not looking her in the eyes. "Although we're still not sure how it's possible, we believe that your powers were taken from demons that originally possessed them."

Anise glanced at Kurama from the corner of her eye. "That doesn't explain Hiei and Kurama's behavior."

"Of course not," Koenma agreed. "These two just came back from their investigation, and they discovered that your ice powers came from Yukina, a Koorime ice demon."

The name was familiar. "She was the person they were talking about after my practice fight. Kurama mentioned that she was Kuwabara's girlfriend, but he didn't seem to remember her," she recalled.

"Yukina was in a romantic relationship with Kuwabara—Kurama was right about that. However, Yukina is also Hiei's twin sister."

Anise nodded, surprised. She couldn't help but wonder how anyone could forget that they had a girlfriend, but a different question seemed more important. "So then… where's Yukina?"

Kurama sat up straighter, looking out the window. "She's gone. Her body and her soul are both gone. The only part of her that's left is the power inside of you."

"Oh…" Her mind raced, but it couldn't settle on a coherent thought.

Kurama stood up and started walking out of the room. "I need to go find Hiei."

"Please do," Koenma urged. The door closed behind the fox demon, and Koenma turned back to Anise. "I know that Hiei was supposed to start your fire training tomorrow, but I'm not sure that he will be up for it. I've been looking for teachers, and I found one that may be able to start training with you in a couple of days."

"Uh… ok, I guess." She shrugged, not sure what else to say. Her eyes were unfocused as she worked through Hiei's actions with a new understanding. She even tried closing her eyes and focusing, trying to find any trace of another consciousness inside of her. It didn't matter how much she wanted to hear a response, no amount of mental screaming awarded her with a response.

Koenma sighed, watching Anise struggle through her thoughts. He left, closing the door behind him, surprised to see Kurama sitting down on the ground just outside. "Yukina's disappearance is a tragedy," he offered.

Kurama nodded, but kept his head on his knees.

"However, it did provide us with some interesting clues."

Kurama glared at the prince for that statement. "I'm glad you find her _death_ to be so interesting," he retorted sarcastically.

Koenma sighed. "You know I don't mean it that way."

Kurama returned his head to his knees. "What did you figure out?"

"I'm a little surprised you didn't think of this earlier. Perhaps the emotional strain was too much…"

"Just get to the point," Kurama pushed.

"Well… Why do you suppose that Kuwabara and Genkai have forgotten about Yukina, but we still know about her?"

Kurama didn't respond.

"Hiei told me that the memories of Anise in people at her home town were repressed deliberately, although erasing them completely should have been easy to do. Genkai's and Kuwabara's memories were also repressed, but ours were not. Is that a deliberate choice, or do these powers only affect humans?"

"Haven't you been doing research on demonic powers from extinct species?"

Koenma nodded. "Yes, I have been, but there are a lot of books. I didn't come across anything that fit what we knew before. However, these new findings give me a good idea of where I should be looking."

Kurama struggled to stand up, clutching the wall and working his way toward his bedroom.

"What's wrong with you?" Koenma asked, noticing how much trouble the redhead was going through. "Didn't you say you were going after Hiei?"

"He vehemently disagreed with that idea," Kurama answered. "The immense sorrow that came through when he spoke with me telepathically was very… draining. I'm worried for him, but he wants to be alone."

"I see. He isn't going to do anything… rash, is he?"

"I need sleep," Kurama said, intentionally ignoring the question.

Koenma nodded, feeling himself begin to sweat. "Good night, then."


	14. Chapter 14: Tight

Sorry for the wait! My beta and I both just got new jobs, so we've been very busy. I do plan to continue updating, but I'm not sure how quickly I can get these out anymore. My schedule will not be stable for a few weeks, so updates will be sporadic. I imagine I can something out at least weekly, so please stick with me through this busy time. :)

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

Anise awoke that morning and stretched, scratching her arms where the snake markings were. The skin was much rougher than usual, and the worse areas were flaking. She sat up slowly, realizing that she had been shedding throughout the night.

A low thunk sounded beside her, and she looked to see Hiei placing a white bottle on her night stand. Anise flinched, quickly scrambling to the other side of the bed and keeping her eyes trained on him.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Hiei ground out, but his tone suggested otherwise. His body was tense and his eyes were watching her carefully, scrutinizing. He looked like a predator about to pounce.

She inspected him as he stood with his arms crossed, waiting for her to respond. After a few moments, she decided to chance a response. "Um… Ok."

"It's from Koenma." He pointed to the bottle he brought in. "It contains a salve that snake demons use when they start shedding."

Nodding, she reached for the bottle, never taking her eyes off of him. Cautiously, she removed the lid. The smell reminded her of grass and salt. She looked down and dabbed a little on her left hand, the salve instantly sinking in and soothing the dry skin. Looking back at him, she saw him relax slightly. His eyes, normally blazing and passionate, were dull. Even his spiky hair looked limp in places. "I… I'm sorry…" she offered, not sure what she could say to ease his pain, just wishing to try.

His shoulders stiffened again. "I don't have time for your useless words right now. We have training to do." He glared at her.

Anise nodded slowly, unsure of what else to do.

"Be outside in 5 minutes," he ordered, then ran for the window, hopping out.

Anise's hands shook as she quickly worked the salve into both hands and rubbed her arms and legs. She sniffled, wondering if she should blame herself for what happened to Hiei's sister. The only piece of Yukina that was left rested within her, trapped inside. And if her ice powers came from Yukina, where did her other powers come from? Was she responsible for seven other deaths as well? More than anything, Anise wished she could reach inside of herself and pull out every bit of demonic energy and give it back.

* * *

Anise wore black shorts and a shirt to the battlefield, an attempt to respect what Hiei must still be feeling after yesterday's discovery while still being able to move about and train. The wind was weak and the yellow sky was cloudless. Hiei stood in the middle of the arena in only his black pants, the rest of his clothing in a pile at his feet with the sword resting on top. When he turned around, Anise couldn't help but admire the toned muscles on his chest and stomach.

"Tell me what you know about fire, human," he demanded, holding up a hand and producing a small black flame.

Anise snapped out of her stare, her gaze instantly attracted to the glowing black in his hands. "Well, where I come from, it doesn't look like that."

He smirked. "And what is required to make fire where you come from?"

Anise quickly held up three fingers, trying her hardest to please him. "Oxygen, fuel, and heat."

Hiei nodded. "When a fire demon produces fire, the requirements are very different. The fire that you will produce will be fueled by your own energy. That energy is, by nature, very hot. Oxygen is unnecessary, since demonic fire will burn as long as you will it to. However, if you wish to set something else on fire, the usual requirements must be met." He raised his arms and they were suddenly surrounded by a wall of black flames.

The heat from the fire rushed to her body, and she felt herself shiver in pleasure. "Oh!" she gasped at the sudden onslaught of warmth that radiated straight to her core.

Hiei raised an eyebrow. "You like the heat?"

She nodded, her eyes dropping closed. Her body absorbed the heat from the air rapidly as if it had been starved. Her muscles relaxed and all of the stress from the prior day began to melt away, leaving her lethargic.

Hiei watched her absorb the energy from his flames, watching them die around him. He fed them more of his energy and she shivered in response. He didn't understand her reaction at all. As much fun as it was to play with fire, no fire demons felt this kind of pleasure from the heat. His mind picked up traces of her ecstasy, and his own reaction was swift. His pants tightened, and he growled low. He quickly extinguished the flames around them and opened his Jagan eye, focusing on calming himself before she noticed.

Anise sighed, rubbing her arms to cling to the remaining warmth. "Wow…" Her voice was low and alluring.

"That's enough for today," Hiei growled out harshly, almost spitting the words at her. He stomped off toward to castle, picking up his clothes and quickly donning them. He flashed away, leaving a very confused Anise behind.

* * *

Hiei barged into Kurama's room without warning. The fox demon didn't flinch, having felt Hiei's overwhelming frustration moments before he arrived. Kurama's eyes were red from lack of sleep. "I thought you were training."

"Shut up." Hiei responded. He paced, looking for the right words to describe his… predicament.

Kurama turned around in his desk chair and crossed his legs, his eyes focused on the frustrated fire demon. "And what can I help you with this time?"

"It's that… girl."

Kurama yawned, looking toward the window. "Uh huh."

"I was trying to train her, but I think there is something wrong with her. The way she reacts to my fire is very… strange…"

Kurama nodded. "And why should I care?"

Hiei stopped pacing, taken aback. He focused wide eyes on Kurama, finally noticing how ragged and tired the redhead looked. "Excuse me?"

Kurama sighed. "I asked why I should care."

He didn't have an answer at first, and struggled to form a sentence. "Aren't we—I don't know… friends, or something?"

"Friends…" Kurama sounded out, testing it. "Do you even know what that word means?" Hiei was silent in response. "You disappeared last night without telling anyone where you were going. You were such an emotional wreck, I wasn't sure you were ever going to come back. I thought that you were going to kill yourself…"

Hiei scoffed. "You are overreacting."

Kurama stood up and walked over to the fire demon with a challenging glare in his eyes. "Fuck you."

Hiei backed off, nervous.

Kurama never cursed, and the word felt disgusting coming from his mouth. "I couldn't sleep last night from worrying about you. And here you are, inviting yourself into my room without even caring. You're a fucking mind reader, so don't tell me you didn't know."

Hiei swallowed, not wanting to admit that the scene with Anise had distracted him so badly that his mind was scattered. The Jagan was still working on focusing him, but it was taking longer than he expected.

"Get out, Hiei. I don't have time to deal with you right now." Kurama returned to his chair and turned his back to Hiei. When he couldn't feel the fire demon's energy in his room, he let out a long breath.


End file.
